The Lucky Bachelor
by stargazer 1017
Summary: Carter Grayson's been revealed as Mariner Bay's most eligible bachelor. . .and the race is on to see who can get to him first *Now completed!*
1. Bachelor of Mariner Bay

Disclaimer: The usual

Author's notes: The idea just came up all of a sudden. Heck, Carter Grayson's gotta be one of the cutest rangers that have ever graced us on PR--and why the heck haven't any tv shows ever picked up on him when he was doing his ranger duties? So I give my idea on what if Carter was given the title "most eligible bachelor" in Mariner Bay--no, it's not going to follow that Bachelor show on tv (I honestly haven't seen it and don't really care to). Just giving Carter a shot at some fame ;) Hope you enjoy it. Feedback always appreciated.  
Timeline: Probably during season two of PRLR

The Lucky Bachelor  
Part 1: Bachelor of Mariner Bay  
By: stargazer_1017

"And you say that the food here is awesome?" Carter Grayson asked. He was sitting at a small table with his fellow ranger, Dana Mitchell in a restaurant in Mariner Bay.

Dana grinned and took a sip of water. "Honest, Carter. I love the soups and sandwiches they have here," she replied. 

"Soups and sandwiches? I thought you loved the one on the Aquabase."

"These are even better," Dana said, looking up as a waiter came to their table. "What can I get for you today, sir, madam," he said politely.

Carter raised his eyebrows at Dana. "We'll take the soup and sandwich of the day," Dana said, smiling at the waiter. The waiter smiled back. "The usual then, Ms. Mitchell?" he asked, writing down the order. Carter gave Dana a questioning look and Dana laughed slightly. "When something's good, you've gotta come back for more," Dana replied.

The waiter nodded in agreement and said, "Be right back with your orders," he said and walked off. "You came here often?" Carter asked.

Dana nodded. "I used to come here after school and then I came here during the break between shifts when I was a paramedic," she replied.

Carter smiled at the thought of Dana coming to this little restaurant when she was younger. It was hard for him to imagine her as a young girl or teenager running around the town doing stuff. "Well, there are quite a few people here," he observed, taking a quick look around the restaurant.

"Are you kidding me? This place is a goldmine," Dana replied. 

"You've probably been the one supporting their business," Carter joked. Dana's jaw dropped slightly as she reached across and gave him a friendly slap on the arm. "All right, I'm probably their biggest fan," Dana admitted. "What can I say--I'm a sucker for picnic food."

The waiter came back with a tray of two large sandwiches and two large bowls of soup. Carter's eyes widened as the sandwich and soup was put down in front of him. "Huge lunch," he remarked.

"That's why I only ate a bannana for breakfast," Dana said, picking up her spoon. 

Carter nodded and then he caught a flash of movement at the podium where the host stood. He turned his attention in that direction and saw the host dealing with a customer who was discussing something with him. The host appeared slightly aggitated by the customer.

Dana looked at Carter and noticed the frown on his face. "Carter, is something wrong?" she asked him, concerned. Carter turned to her briefly and didn't say a word. Dana turned around in her chair to see what he was looking at. All of a sudden, the host's face took on a look of shock as the customer pulled out a gun from his jacket. 

Dana gasped and Carter rushed over to her and pulled her underneath the table. Right after they had gotten underneath the table, the man yelled out, "Nobody move!" Dana looked at Carter and asked, "What do we do?"

Carter stared at her for a moment, waiting for an idea to come to mind. Suddenly, he looked down at his morpher. "You're thinking of morphing?" Dana whispered, knowing already what he was thinking. 

"I can probably get to him before he gets to me," Carter said, whispering back.

"And how are you going to do that? By shooting at him with your rescue blaster?" Dana demanded. "He's a human, not one of Bansheera's monsters."

Carter nodded with understanding. "And he'd probably take some people down too," he said, realizing one more hole in his plan.

"Hey, I saw two people here," the man's voice said, dangerously close to the table Carter and Dana were under. "Where are they?" 

"I don't know," came a soft reply. The man pounded his fist on the table, making Dana flinch. "Where the hell are they?" the man demanded, his voice getting loud.

"I'm going out," Dana whispered to Carter and started to move towards the edge of the table. Carter held her back by putting his hand on her arm. "Wait a minute. . .why?" he asked her.

"He's starting to wonder where we are. He obviously spotted us when he came in. He might hurt someone if he doesn't get answers," Dana replied. Carter frowned, and he obviously disagreed with her tactic, but he nodded. "Hope you come up with a plan fast," Dana whispered again before she jumped out from under the table. "I'm right here," she said, speaking to the gunman, who had walked back to the podium and had his back to her. The gunman spun around and focused his gun on her. "Where's your boyfriend," he asked.

Dana ignored the mistake and took a deep breath before saying, "He went to the bathroom."

The gunman walked up to her quickly and put the gun to her chest right above her heart. "You're not lying to protect him from me, aren't you?" 

"No," Carter heard Dana reply as he poised himself under the table, ready to jump out if in case Dana would need him. Carter started to think of a plan. The only thing he could do was rush the man. . .but he had to chose the right time to do it. 

Dana started breathing even heavier as the cold, metal gun was put on her skin, but she glared at the man and stood her ground. She could see the gunman's hand shaking and his determination to stay in control. Suddenly, the man spun around and walked back to the podium. "Now tell me where John is," the gunman demanded.

The host shook his head. "Honest, Earl, I don't know."

The gunman pounded his fist into the nearest table. "Don't you lie to me, damnit! I know he's here! Now tell me where he is!"

Under the table, Carter listened to the voice and it sounded as if the gunman had walked off a bit further from him. He peeked out from under the tablecloth slowly and saw the two men arguing. He noticed that while the gunman was arguing, he held the gun casually, flicking it around as if it was just something in his hand. Carter got out slowly from under the table and stood up. Dana looked at him with surprise and watched as he tried to approach the gunman from behind. Two women who had noticed Carter appear from out of nowhere started to put their hands to their mouths. Dana shook her head quickly at them and put her finger to her lips to warn them to be quiet. When she was sure they were going stay quiet, she turned her attention back to Carter, who was just only three feet away from the gunman.

The host had seen Carter sneak up from behind and tried to make his expression neutral, as not to draw attention to Carter. "Why don't I give him a call," the host said suddenly, turning to walk off. When the gunman pulled his gun up, Carter took this moment to take him down. He jumped forward and tackled the gunman from behind. The gunman was so surprised by the action, he dropped his gun and it went sliding across the floor.

Dana rushed forward immidiately to grab the gun before anyone else could get it. Not sure of what to do with it, she opened its chamber and emptied the bullets. Carter put his weight on the man's back and held onto his hands to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. Then he noticed the bullets on the floor and asked, "Why'd you do that?"

"So it doesn't go off accidentally," Dana replied. The host came running back to them. "I've just called the police. They're on their way," he informed them. He gave a big, relieved smile. "Thank you so much, sir," he said. "All of us here owe us your life."

Suddenly, an applause broke out around the room. Carter and Dana looked around and Dana noticed something--majority of the people there were women. Then Dana noticed something else: they obviously appeared very impressed by Carter's show of heroism.

***

"It must be so fascinating, being a ranger and everything," the brown-haired girl said, smilng at Carter. Carter smiled back. "I just want to help people and being a ranger helps me do that," he replied. It was right after the restuarant had been secured and the gunman was taken away.

The girl smiled even wider as she leaned in closer to him. "You know, I've always wanted to be a Power Ranger. How are you chosen?"

Carter shrugged. "Actually, we were chosen by Captain Mitchell. He's the head of the Lightspeed Aquabase," he informed her. The girl seemed impressed by all this information. 

"Ahem," Dana said, pretending to cough. Carter turned to her and saw she was sitting in the driver's seat of the rescue rover, waiting for him. He turned back to the group of women who had gathered around him and smiled apologetically. "Sorry ladies, I've gotta go."

The group was obviously disappointed by his departure. "When will we see you again, Carter?" one called out.

Carter was speechless. Never in his life had he this much attention. "I don't know," he replied quickly and jumped into the passenger seat. He smiled at them and nodded as Dana drove them off to the Aquabase. "Looks like you caught yourself a huge fanbase, Carter, and the whole fanbase is full with women."

Carter shrugged. "I have no idea why. All I did was stop a gunman from trying to kill people."

Dana turned to Carter with an unbelieving look. She smiled and turned her attention back to the road. "Stop being modest, Carter. You'll only make the girls chase you harder." Carter turned to her briefly and didn't respond, thinking about the comment she just made.

***

"So who was the crazed guy that pulled the gun out at the restaurant?" Joel asked. He and the other rangers were seated around the table and were being briefed by Captain Mitchell about the day's events.

"I'm not exactly sure myself, Joel," Captain Mitchell replied. He turned to the woman next to him. "Ms. Krennick, a reporter for the Mariner Bay Times, was nice enough to brief us on the situation." He nodded to the woman and she turned to the five rangers. "The gunman that Carter Grayson stopped was a former chef of the restuarant. His name is Earl Cooper. He was fired the day before for threatening another employee at the restaurant and he came back to the restaurant today, planning on killing the manager that fired him."

"He admitted all of this?" Chad asked.

Ms. Krennick nodded. "Yes, he did," she replied. "It was lucky you did what you did when you did, Mr. Grayson. He seems slightly unstable, and who knows what he would have done if he had more time."

Carter shrugged modestly. "I was just there at the right time," he replied. "I'm sure anyone would've done the same in my position."

Ms. Krennick was smiling widely. "You're very modest, Mr. Grayson," she observed. "Women love that in a man."

Carter raised his eyebrow as Captain Mitchell asked, "Does this case require Lightspeed's attention, Ms. Krennick?" She turned to Captain Mitchell and shook her head. "The Mariner Bay Police Department will handle the case from now on, Captain."

Captain Mitchell nodded. "All right, then. If that's it, I'll have one of my technicians--" he was stopped short by Ms. Krennick. "Captain, if you don't mind, I'd like to conduct an interview with the hero of the day."

Captain Mitchell was surprised by the request, but turned to Carter and raised his eyebrows. When Carter nodded, Captain Mitchell turned back to Ms. Krennick. "All right. But please try not to keep him away too long, Ms. Krennick. A city emergency might come up."

"I won't, I promise," the reported vowed. Captain Mitchell turned to the other four remaining rangers and said, "You're dismissed. The other rangers got up from their seats and walked out of the room, followed by Captain Mitchell. Carter watched them leave the room and turned to the reporter, who had taken a seat right across from him. "Congratulations on your heroic actions, Mr. Grayson," Ms. Krennick said, smiling at him.

"Carter's fine, Ms. Krennick," Carter corrected. 

"Well then, since we're on the first name basis, Brenda's fine," she replied. Carter nodded. "So what's your take on the event? How do you feel about it personally?" she asked.

Carter shrugged. "Like I said. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Anyone would've done the same."  
Brenda paused for a moment and Carter had the feeling she didn't get the answer she was looking for. "You know, you have a lot of admiring fans out there--A large one of women."

Carter raised his eyebrow. "I'm not really aware," he said.

"Are you single?"

"For the time being, yes," Carter replied.

"Are you sure? You're not dating anyone. . .like Dana Mitchell, maybe."

"Dana? She's a teammate."

"You've been seen a lot around Mariner Bay with her by your side. . .so you're not involved with her at all?"

"I told you, we work together as rangers, but I'm not involved with her romantically."

"Did the thought even cross the mind? Would you consider her as one?"

Carter narrowed his eyes slightly at the reporter. "What does my relationship with Dana have to do with what happened today at the restauraunt?" he asked, trying to figure out what the reporter was trying to get out of him.

Brenda hesitated before replying, "Nothing much, actually." She got up and grabbed her purse. "I'm sorry for distubring you like that, Carter. I hope I didn't offend you."

Carter was slightly surprised by her hasty retreat, but chose to steer away from it. He shook his head and Brenda smiled. "All right then. I'll make sure you get the right exposure in the paper, Carter Grayson. You won't be disappointed."

Something was weird about how she was saying things, and Carter picked up on it immediately. Before he could tell her, she was out of the door. Carter just shook his head and walked off to his quarters.

***

"He's like, Mr. GQ or something," Kelsey said, holding the newspaper up. She, Dana, Chad, and Joel were eating breakfast in the galley the next day. "Can you believe it?" she asked, passing the paper off to Joel.

"Man, I don't get it," Joel complained. "Out of all the rangers to focus on, it's gotta be him. He's not the only handsome ranger running around saving lives."

"He's the only one majority of the women in Mariner Bay noticed," Chad replied with a smile. Joel scowled and went back to eating. Just then, Carter walked in. "Good morning, guys," he greeted them as he took a seat between Chad and Dana.

Joel folded up the newspaper so that he could get a look at Carter's face. "Guess what's on the front page of the paper," he asked.

"The attack at the restaurant?" Carter guessed.

Joel shook his head and Dana grabbed the newspaper and read the quote,"The most underated eleigble bachelor in Mariner Bay." Carter felt his stomach drop slightly. "Oh no," he said, taking a guess at what was on the front page. Dana passed the paper to him and his jaw dropped. Sprawled under the headline Dana just read was a picture of him!

To be continued. . .hehehe. . .


	2. Trial and Error

Disclaimer: Read part 1  
  
Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews! Tried to get this up as soon as I could, and it's a short one, so I hope you're not disappointed.  
As I see it, the story could go either of three ways:  
1. Carter ends up with a girl we don't know about until this particular story  
2. Carter could end up choosing Dana, who will play a large roll in his dating techniques  
3. Carter could end up with no one and stay a bachelor for a little while longer, until his ranger duties end.  
I don't know if you'll be surprised at the ending--or you'll expect it. Take a guess at who he'll end up with, but those are the three choices that I'm deliberating on.  
Happy reading!

The Lucky Bachelor  
Part 2: Trial and Error  
By: stargazer_1017

Carter raised his eyebrow at the article he was reading in a magazine. It was later in the day, and everyone was doing their own thing so Carter had the room to himself to do--nothing. He wasn't complaining about having the free time, though. With Olympius still on the run, there was still something to worry about. 

"Carter Grayson, please report to Captain Mitchell's office," a voice called out on the intercom. Carter looked up and paid close attention to the announcement. "He needs to speak with you immediately." 

Frowning slightly, Carter put the magazine down and walked quickly out of the room. I wonder what the Captain has to talk   
about, he thought as he stopped right in front of the Captain's room. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A faint, "Come in," was said and Carter entered the room. He walked up to the Captain's desk and stood at attention. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Carter asked.

Captain Mitchell, who was sitting on his chair and writing something on a piece of paper, looked up at the young man. "Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing towards the seat in front of him. Carter nodded and did as told. 

Sighing, Captain Mitchell said, "What's this I hear about your new spotlight in the Mariner Bay Times?" 

Oh no, Carter thought, slightly panicked. He hadn't expected the Captain to be particularly concerened. "Sir, I had nothing to do with that," he said aloud.

Captain Mitchell looked doubtful as he pulled the newspaper out from a cabinet at his desk and quoted, awkwardly,   
"Carter Grayson is eligible, ladies--go out and get him now while you have the chance." He threw the paper on the desk right in front of Carter. 

Carter shook his head. "Sir, I did nothing to promote that," he replied. He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to say."

Captain Mitchell paused before saying, "Carter, will this. . newfound fame interfere with your ranger duties?"

"No, sir. Being a ranger comes first."

That seemed to satisfy Captain MItchell--just a tiny bit. He nodded. "Make sure to keep it that way." Carter sat up straight in his chair and nodded back. Captain MItchell gestured towards the door. "You're excused."

That's it? Carter thought inwardly. He got up quickly. "Yes, sir," he replied and turned around. 

"Carter?"

Carter stopped in his tracks, right in front of the Captain's door, and turned around. "Sir?"Captain Mitchell reached for the paper on the desk. "You know, there was an interesting part of the article that mentioned my daughter."

Carter raised his eyebrow slightly, but not enough to be noticed by his superior. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't   
say anything. He shut his mouth and tried again. "What--about, sir?"

Captain Mitchell seemed slighlty amused by Carter's expression. "Just make sure to remember what we talked about," he   
said, not revealing anymore. Carter smiled briefly and turned around. Carter never noticed the slight smile Captain Mitchell had on his face as Carter walked out the door.

***

"A date?" Dana asked.

Carter shrugged as he gulped down orange juice. When he swallowed, he said, "I was trying to find a book in the city and a girl just came up to me. We started talking and before I knew it, we had a date to a restaurant tonight."

"Didn't the personals ad run just yesterday?" Kelsey joked, smiling playfully. Carter glared at her and replied, "Yes, it was just yesterday."

Joel, who was sitting on Carter's left, gave him a slap on the arm. "You sly devil you, you do work fast!" he said, grinning. "And I thought you didn't have it in you." 

Carter started to reply when a technician walked up to the table. "Carter, you've got some messages," he said. "All right," Carter said, extended his hand. The technician looked at the other rangers hestitantly and then gave him the strap of a bag. The weight of bag was so heavy that Carter dropped his hand down so that the bag would be supported by the floor. "What the--" he started, then he looked up at the technician. "I thought you said I had _some_ messages!"

"They _are _some messages, sir," the technician replied. He forced a smile on his face and went off. Carter gaped at his retreating figure in disbelief and then looked down at the bag. He opened them and was greeted by a huge pile of papers. He stuck his hand inside and grabbed some messages. His jaw dropped at the messages were given.

"Let me guess, the fanbase started their own club?" Dana asked. Carter looked at her and gave her some of the slips of papers he was holding. Dana took the papers and read off from some of them. "Your adoring fan, Elyse"--"Admiring the only guy for me, Karen," Dana started reading from them.

"Oh no," Carter groaned, covering his eyes with his right hand. "What the heck had that reporter gotten me into?"

Dana looked up from the messages she had in her hands. "You okay, Carter?" she asked, worried.

Carter rolled his eyes and shook his head. Kelsey leaned across and put her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, you've jumped out of buildings, and even defeated a couple of demons determined to kill us. I think you're way capable of searching for that girl who's dying to meet you."

***

"Carter!"

Carter turned around to see a short, blonde-haired girl walking quickly towards him, grinning. He smiled back. "Hi, Reese," he said, greeting her. She does look great, Carter admitted inwardly. Reese appeared to have taken time to dress for their date tonight.

At first, when the article came out, Carter was hesitant on going on dates. It didn't seem like it was important in his life right now. His friends, the other rangers, encouraged him otherwise, saying that now was the right time to find his dream girl--now was the time to find the one who would keep him happy for the rest of his life.

Carter was pretty sure he wouldn't find her tonight, but he figured this was the best way to start. "Did I pull you away from your duties?" Reese asked worriedly, gently shaking Carter out of his thoughts.

Carter shook his head and smiled reassuringly. "Nothing came up, but if I get a call, I apologize right now for leaving." Reese laughed and took his arm. "You're such a sweetie! I won't worry if you won't," she assured him. "Shall we go in?" 

Carter nodded and they walked into the restaurant together. After they were seated, things got quiet--very quiet. Thirty-  
minutes later, it was totally silent. Carter sighed loudly and when Reese frowned slightly, he smiled quickly at her. "So. . .what do you do in Mariner Bay?" he asked.

Reese shrugged. "I've been around, here and there," she replied. "Can't find the right job, so I've just been doing commercials."

Carter was impressed. "So you're a local celebrity?" he asked.

"Not yet," Reese replied, smiling slightly. "A toothpaste commercial, some magazine shots, stuff like that." Carter nodded and when Reese didn't give out further information, the table went silent again. When the food came, Carter was actually relieved by the waiter's interruption. They were chewing on the food silently, and then Carter asked, "So. . .read any good books lately?" Reese dropped her fork and raised her eyebrow at him.

***

Dana squinted at the monitor and looked down back at the computer console. She typed a few codes into the computer and   
looked back up at the monitor. Her father was standing at her side, waiting for news that she might have discovered. "Are there any incidents?" he asked.

Dana shook her head. "None at all, Captain," she replied, and proceeded to punch a few more codes into the computer. "Everything seems to be quiet for the time being." Captain Mitchell looked down at his watch and then back to Dana. "You should get some sleep. I'm sure the night will stay quiet," he advised her.

Dana turned to her father briefly and then back at the monitor. "I'll just make some quick sweeps of the city, and then head   
to bed," she replied. 

"You sure?"

Dana smiled at him. "I'll be fine, dad. You go on and get some sleep." Captain Mitchell nodded and with a smile, he turned   
around and headed off to his quarters. Dana watched her father go and then continued to do a scan of the city.

"Authorized Lightspeed personnel now entering Lightspeed Aquabase," an automated voice announced overhead.

Dana kept her eye on the screen, still doing her scan. Must be Carter, she thought inwardly. All regular personnel that didn't stay in the Aquabase were already released for the day. She saw a flash of red pass behind her. As she finished up her last scanning area, she asked, "So how'd the date go?" 

Carter didn't reply. Instead he just kept on walking forward. Dana frowned, not hearing a response. She finished her application and then turned her attention away from the console. Carter was walking away slowly and she noticed he was dressed in his usual clothes. She felt like asking if that was what he had worn to the date, but decided against it.. "Carter?" she called out to him. This time, Carter stopped and turned around, allowing time for Dana to walk up to him. "You okay?"

Carter appeared to be struggling with a thought in his mind, but still didn't say anything. Dana bit her lip with understanding.   
"That bad, huh?" she guessed. 

Finally, Carter seemed ready to talk. He shrugged. "I don't know what happened! We were talking great, then everything went . . .quiet!"

"You didn't what to say to her?"

"I didn't know what to talk about," Carter replied. "I don't understand."

Dana felt sympathy for her friend. "Why don't we talk in the galley?" she offered. Carter gestured towards the console that Dana was working at. "Aren't you busy with something else?"

Dana shook her head. "I just scanned Mariner Bay for any activity that we should be aware of, but there's nothing going on right now. I'm sure nothing will happen tonight anyway. They'll notify us if something comes up," she added, gesturing towards the few technicians a few feet away, who were on night patrol. Carter nodded, agreeing to her idea and they walked to the empty galley.

"So, tell me from the beginning. What happened?" Dana asked as she and Carter sat at one of the smaller tables in the room. 

"Things were fine when Reese just got there," Carter said, remembering how cheerful Reese had been when she had just   
arrived. "She asked me about my ranger duties and I was describing it to her, and after awhile she seemed to get bored."

Dana nodded, opening her mouth slightly but not speaking a word, so that Carter could continue on. "Then I asked her if she   
had read any books lately."

_"Books?" Reese repeated, her eyes widening. Carter realized his mistake as soon as he saw Reese's reaction. "I hate reading," Reese replied, saying the words as if they were pieces of dirt she wanted to spit from her mouth._

"You asked her what book she read lately?" Dana asked disbelievingly. What is it with women and asking them what they've read lately, Carter thought with confusion. "It was a simple, innocent question," Carter replied.

Dana raised her eyebrow. "And. . .what were you hoping to accomplish or get out of her by asking that question?" she asked, leaning back in her chair, waiting for his answer.

"Just--just trying to make conversation," Carter replied. A stiffle escaped from Dana's lips. "Things were going dry!" Carter said defensively. Suddenly, Dana started laughing. "It wasn't very funny," Carter said, not understanding why Dana was now laughing her head off now. He felt himself trying to glare at her--but her laugh was getting infectious and soon, he began to chuckle. Soon, the laughter quieted down a bit and Dana shook her head. "Come on, Carter, what did you used to say to your girlfriends when you were out on a date?" she asked him.

Carter stopped laughing and slowly looked downward. Dana also stopped laughing when he didn't respond. "Don't tell me you. . .Carter, you have gone on dates before, haven't you?"

"Well yeah, but that was a long time ago."

"How long?"

Carter looked up from the floor and into Dana's eyes. They were questioning him now, waiting for his response. "I had a girlfriend in high school, but we broke up in the beginning of junior year."

"And. . .you've never had a date after then?" Dana asked. She watched his expression and added, "Until now. . ." 

Carter shrugged. "School was getting harder and I studied even more. I was also trying secure my dreams of becoming a   
fireman," he replied.

Dana sighed. "No wonder," she mused. She reached across the table to grasp his hand. "I'm sorry about laughing at your   
book comment, then," she apologized.

"No, don't be," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know what I expected. I guess I thought I wouldn't have to say much--Reese was the one who set up this dinner date, not me." He sighed again. "Maybe I'm just not the right guy for this bachelor stuff."

"I can't believe you're giving up after just one date!"

"It was a disaster!" Carter argued. "I'll just deal with this dating stuff when I'm old enough."

Dana shook her head and then tilted her head to her right. "Uh oh," Carter suddenly said, straightening up. Dana frowned. "What, 'uh oh'," she quoted him.

"You've got a plan in mind, I can see it."

Dana shrugged slightly. "Of course I do!" Her expression softened on him. "Listen, I'll help you out with the whole 'Men are   
from Mars, women are from Venus' questions."

Carter raised his eyebrow. "You'll help me?" When Dana nodded, he narrowed his eyes slightly. "And what do you get in   
return?" he asked.

Dana shrugged. "Nothing. I just want to help you out, that's all."

Carter stared at her for a few moments and then sighed. "What if I totally bite at this dating stuff? I'll probably never be able to find the right girl."

"You'll find her, Carter," Dana replied. "You're the most wonderful, sweetest, bravest man I've ever met. The girl you pick is lucky to have you pick her, and stupid if she doesn't accept you." Carter felt her squeeze his hand and his eyes turned downwards, at her hand still resting on his. He had forgotten her hand was still there and had a firm grasp on his hand. He looked back up at Dana and smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks," he whispered.

Dana appeared to hesitate before she smiled back at him. They stared at each other for a few awkward moments and Carter felt another flash of deja vu. It wasn't the first time that he and Dana had been in this situation. In fact, it wasn't that long ago since the last time--

Dana pulled her hand away from his and Carter was jerked from his thoughts. She gave another smile. "It's geting late, and we should head to sleep. I mean, Olympius hasn't attacked for days, but he could still be planning an attack for tomorrow," she said quietly.

Carter nodded and put another smile on his face. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed. They both got up and walked into the hall. There was silence between them, but Carter wasn't uncomfortable--it was actually a comfortable silence that was welcome.   
Soon, they were at the intersection that separated the men's quarters from the women's. "We'll. . .continue the talk tomorrow," Dana said, breaking the silence.

Carter showed his agreement by nodding. "Good night, Dana," he said. 

"Night, Carter," Dana replied and with another smile, she turned to her right and walked down the hall of the women's quarters, heading towards the room she shared with Kelsey. Carter watched as she walked towards her room and when she was safely inside, he turned and headed towards the room he shared with Joel and Chad. 

Maybe Dana's right, Carter thought as the door to his quarters opened with a swish. _I'll find her one of these days--and when I do, I'm not letting her go._


	3. Jealousy?

Disclaimer: Parts one and two. . .

The Lucky Bachelor  
Part 3: Jealousy?  
By: Stargazer_1017

"Okay, so just sit back and relax," Dana instructed. She and Carter were seated in the now empty Mess Hall in the Aquabase. Dana had requested three days ago for an hour in the Hall after lunch for her and Carter to work on his "tactics". Dana thought Carter was making some sort of progress for these past couple of days. Carter reclined back in his chair and looked at her for approval. Dana bit her lip and stopped the smile from showing on her face. "I said relaxed, not ready to sleep," she corrected. Carter grinned sheepishly and sat up in his seat and moved back in his chair so that his back was flush with the back of the chair. Then he looked back at Dana.

"Great," Dana smiled and leaned forward. "All right, so we're sitting down at the restaurant and things go quiet. What are you going to say?" Carter opened his mouth to speak, and Dana interrupted quickly, "No book questions, no job comments. . .think about what you're going to say."

Carter looked down thoughtfully. Dana gave him a slightly sympathizing look. "Come on Carter, I know you can do this," Dana encouraged him. Carter sighed frustratedly. "I don't think I can do this," he groaned.

"Okay, okay," Dana said, leaning back in her chair. She put her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "What's hard about this, Carter? I mean, you're not nervous or anything, aren't you?" 

"I'm not," Carter sighed. "I just figured I could say anything to a girl and get her talking."

"Like what?" Dana prodded.

"Like. . .what she would think about world events, about things that matter to her, things that she find funny. . ."

"So give it a try."

Carter frowned. "Give _what_ a try?"

"Your tactic for getting me talking," Dana replied. Carter looked slightly skeptical, but Dana gave him a challenging look. She even crossed her arms and stared at him, waiting for him to start. Carter cleared his throat and said, "So what do you think about violence?"

Dana raised an eyebrow. "Violence?" she asked, her question monotone. 

Carter ignored the tone of her voice and pushed forward. "Yeah," he said nodding. "Everyday as rangers, we go out there to save the city from people getting hurt, but sometimes battle with the demons get innocent people hurt everyday. Are we promoting the right image for ourselves?"

Dana shook her head and leaned forward. Carter smiled inwardly when he saw that he had caught her attention. "We can't help it. I guess sometimes when we try to save people, some will get caught in the battle and some will get hurt."

"But is it worth it? Isn't there some way that we can get rid of the threat without being a threat to the innocent civilians?"

"We try to," Dana said. "I mean, it's always our strategy to pull the demons away from the general public when we're engaged in a battle, but we don't always succeed."

"So you mean it's inevitable for people to get caught in the middle?"

"No way," Dana protested. "I'm not going to guarentee that we can get everyone out of harm's way, but think of it this way--if we weren't battling the demons, then wouldn't _more_ people get hurt? Wouldn't _more_ people be in harm's way, with no one to stop the demons that try to hurt them."

Carter shrugged. "That may be true," he started but Dana was caught up in her own thoughts. "I don't like people getting caught in the middle when we're engaged in a battle with a demon, but we're doing the best we can out there. As long as we're doing the best we can, I don't think we're letting the city down."

"I wasn't saying we were," Carter said, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. Dana caught the movement and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're slick," she said, smiling at him.

Carter shrugged. "I just know what topics you like to talk about," he admitted. Dana nodded. "That's great."

"But what about total strangers? I don't think I'd know what to talk about," Carter said.

"That doesn't matter," Dana replied. "Remember what I told you when we first started? Just look for clues. Sorta like, pretending you're a detective. If you meet a girl at a magazine stand, look at what kind of magazine she's looking at and if you know anything about the articles in it, bring up a conversation. If you're at a clothing store, look at the clothes she's wearing. It might tell you something about what she does or what she's like. If she's buying something fancy, ask her if there's a big party coming up or something. There'll always be some sort of clue of what she's like and something to talk about, I guarentee it."

Carter stared Dana in the eyes and then smiled. "I wish you would be there with me," he said softly. Dana looked slightly confused. "But why?" she asked.

"Because. . .I think I'd be more confident with you there," he replied. Dana laughed softly. "Trust me Carter, you probably wouldn't. You know what they say--three's a crowd." Carter thought about what she said--and then thought about what he said. It was true. He'd rather have Dana there than anyone . . .any girl. . .

He leaned forward and opened his mouth to say something when the doors to the Mess Hall swished open. He jumped and turned to see one of the cooks at the doorway with a box of vegetables in his arms. "Sorry kids, hour's up," he said, walking into the room. 

Dana laughed and turned to Carter. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said getting up. Carter nodded and got up with her, forgetting the train of thoughts he had earlier.

***

"Come on, Captain, I've gotta take the Rover out," Joel said, protesting to Captain Mitchell on the Ops Bay. He was gesturing wildly with his hands and pointing towards the vehicle bay. "Joel, the last time I let you take the Rover out, the Rover actually got taken for a joyride by a bunch of kids," Captain Mitchell said.

"But that was over down in Windrow City," Joel said quickly--and then shut his mouth. He opened it again and said, "I mean--"

Captain Mitchell shook his head and turned around, walking to a set of panels. "You lied about where you were taking the Rover and drove it into the neighbor city, you left the Rover and its keys in the parking lot, and tried to bribe the police officers who found the Rover so that they wouldn't tell me where it was found and how." He spun back around and faced the young man. "And you still have the gall to ask me to borrow the Rover?"

Joel paused for a moment, looking down. Then he looked back up. "Yes."

Captain Mitchell groaned and turned back around and watched the monitor on the wall. "You're dismissed, Joel," he said. Joel opened his mouth to speak and somehow, Captain Mitchell sensed that he was about to say something and held up his hand to silence him. Joel groaned frustratedly and turned around, stomping to his quarters. He walked into the room and when the door closed, he pounded his fist on it and gave a frustrated grunt.

"Bad day?"

Joel turned to his right and saw Carter laying down in bunk, reading a magazine. Joel approached the Red Ranger and said, "Can you believe it? The Captain won't let me take the Rover out."

Carter looked up at him and shook his head. "You're lucky you still get to _ride _in the Rover. If those kids had gone far enough and actually done some damage in the city by firing something, I'm sure the Captain would've had your head," he noted.

Joel growled at his comment and crossed his arms. He leaned back against the wall and scowled. "Goody-goody," he muttered under his breath and glared at the wall in front of him. Then an idea made it's way in his head and he straightened. A slow smile started to make his way onto his face and he slowly turned to Carter. Carter watched as Joel approached him with a wide grin on his face. "Carter, my good friend, my buddy. . ."

"Joel, no."

"No what? I haven't even asked you anything yet!"

Carter got up from his bed and started to head towards the door. Joel stopped him in his tracks by blocking his way. Carter went to the left, and so did Joel--he went in the other direction, and Joel followed also. He sighed. "Joel, whatever you're thinking, the answer's still _no_."

"Come on, Carter. The Captain would let you take the Rover out! He trusts you!"

"Joel, I don't want to be a part of anything that you're involved in."

"You make it sound like I'm doing something bad," Joel said, frowning. "This is all innocent." Carter gave him a dubious look and crossed his arms, waiting for an explaination. "I'm buying a gift for Ms. Fairweather. Need I say anything more?"

"Yes you do," Carter replied. 

"All right, all right. I'm just going into this shop in the city. They've got cheap flowers, candy, gifts, you name it. We can just swing by there, I'll grab something really quick, and then we'll be back here. It won't take more than. . ." he squinted his eyes in concentration as he thought about it, ". . .thirty minutes."

Carter hesitated. Out of all the things for me to get caught in, Carter thought as he glanced at Joel's pleading face. "That's it. You'll just walk in, get something, and get out?"

"Yes."

"No stops at anywhere else, no field trip to Windrow City?"

Joel made a crossing motion with his right hand over the left side of his chest and held up his hand. "I promise, man. I'll be good this time."

Carter sighed and shook his head. "This is against my better judgement, but I'll do it." Joel hugged him quickly and straightened out his vest and shirt. "Thank you man, thank you. This means a lot to me," he said, stepping aside so that Carter could walk past. Carter smiled slightly and rolled his eyes as they walked out.

***

"These are _white_ roses? They look like . . .a sort of yellowish shade," Joel said, bargaining with the shop owner. He was pointing at some flowers behind the man. 

Carter rolled his eyes as he listened to his friend's bargain with the shop owner. The shop was just ten minutes driving distance from the Aquabase's land enterance. He looked around and noticed that the items in the shop were mostly little stuffed animals, stationery, keychains--nothing he'd really buy for himself or anyone. 

He looked up and saw a young woman with brown hair carefully picking up some of the stuffed teddy bears. He watched as she put down one and left a purple one in her hand. Suddenly, the young woman looked in his direction and smiled at him. Part of Carter wanted to smile back and turn away, but a huge part kept his gaze on her. Go for it, a voice said in his head. Carter took a deep breath and walked towards the woman. "A gift for a friend?" he asked. 

The woman nodded, the smile still on her face. "Yeah. Well actually, my little brother ran into a wall trying to catch a baseball and injured his arm," she replied. She held up the teddy bear. "Just thought I'd give him something."

Carter nodded. "Is purple his favorite color?"

"No, it's actually mine," the woman admitted. She shrugged. "I'm sure he'll still love it." She walked closer to him and looked at other items along the shelves. 

_You'll always find something to talk about_, Dana's words sounded in Carter's head as he watched the woman look around. He couldn't think of anything that came to mind to ask her. She was now walking away from him, no longer interested in holding a conversation with him. _Oh well_, Carter thought. _Another one bites the dust._

"Carter," Joel called out. "Come on man, I'm done." He was standing at the counter, and the shop owner was putting some of the items he had bought into the bag.

Carter nodded and walked towards him when the young woman stepped in front of him. "Wait a minute--are you Carter Grayson?" she asked. 

Surprise reflected on Carter's face. He didn't even realize the woman was paying any attention to them. Then again, it was a pretty small shop, and they were the only customers in there. "Yes, I am."

"The Red Ranger?"

When Carter nodded, the young woman grinned ear to ear. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even recognize--" she smacked her forehead. "I'm such a ditz!" 

Carter shook his head. "No, it's okay," he assured her. 

"It must be fascinating to be the Red Ranger," she remarked. "I've always wondered what it's like to be the Red Ranger."

"Really?" Carter asked, a smile coming on his face. Finally. . .he was getting somewhere. An opportunity just came up and he wasn't about to let it go. "I'd--love to tell you about it sometime."

The woman's eyes widened and she smiled. "I'd like that," she replied. "When?"

Carter shrugged. "Well, I'm free tomorrow night. How does that sound? Dinner at the Sea Palace at seven O'clock?" 

"Sounds wonderful," the woman smiled. Carter grinned, feeling the relief enter his body. "Great," he said, nodding at her. When she nodded and smiled back at him, Carter followed Joel out of the shop. Joel patted his friend on the shoulder before hopping into the passenger seat of the vehicle. "Man, that was awesome! Is that your secret?" he asked.

Carter jumped into the driver's seat. "Not really much of a secret. . .I mean, I just asked her out," he said, closing the door and putting the key in the ignition.

"That's what I've done with Ms. Fairweather, and look at me now--I'm buying her gifts! This has gotta be the twentieth time I've bought her something and she still doesn't want to go out with me!" Joel complained. He held up his bag. "This better do the trick," he said. Carter just shook his head. He turned the key in the ignition and drove the Rover back to the Aquabase.

***

A week later

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Carter asked cheerfully to the technicians as he passed by the Ops Bay. The technicians smiled back at him, but appeared slightly confused at his demeanor. Carter headed to the conference room, right on the edge of the Bay and walked in. All the rangers were already seated at the table, with Captain Mitchell looking slightly aggitated. "Carter, you're late," he said, his voice firm. 

"Sorry, sir," Carter said, removing the smile from his face and taking a seat next to Dana. Dana gave him a concerned look as he sat down. When Carter didn't turn to look at her, Dana turned back to her father, a small frown on her face. 

Captain Mitchell turned his attention to the monitor behind him. An image of a demon attacking the city played on the screen. "As you all know, the demon Anderite's been running around the city, causing havoc. He's very hard to track, as you all know, because his false form can appear anywhere in the city, and we wouldn't know until it's too late."

"What should we do, Captain?" Dana asked. "If we split up, and one of us finds the real Anderite, we can't defeat him by ourselves, but if we stick together, we take too long to find the demon and he causes trouble anyway."

Captain Mitchell nodded. "I know, it's a tough one. We're still waiting for Ms. Fairweather to fix some bugs on that prototype that'll get us a reading on where the real demon is, but we can't be assured that the next time the demon strikes, it'll be ready for use or even if it is, that it'll actually work." Just then, alarms rang up around the base.

"Is he back?" Captain Mitchell said into the wireless microphone connected to his ear. "Bring it on the screen," he said, and the rangers watched as an image of a three-story apartment building with fires ravaging from the lower floors came on the screen. "Did Anderite cause that?" Chad asked.

Captain Mitchell shook his head as he listened on his earpiece. "It's an accidental fire started on the first floor, and it's getting out of control. You guys better go," he ordered. Everyone got up and ran to the Rover, which was already being prepared to be lowered.

As she buckled herself in, Dana turned to Carter, who was staring intently through the glass of the windshield. "Hey, you okay Carter?" she asked

Carter shrugged and turned to her. "Yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"You've been late for meetings the last couple of meetings we had, and you weren't here to give the briefing about the encounters we've had with Anderite, and you didn't even pick me up at the hospital."

The entire area around the Rover darkened as the vehicle was lowered below. Carter turned to Dana. "Oh no. . .I forgot. . ." He gave Dana an apologetic glance. "Dana, I'm so sorry. I just got caught up with stuff. . .and it just slipped my mind."

Even in the dark, Dana could tell Carter looked so guilty about forgetting about her. Dana couldn't help by smile to reassure him. "It's okay, Carter. Don't worry about it. I just worry about you."

Carter smiled back at her, obviously relieved that she hadn't bitten his head off. "I really am sorry about that, Dana. Seems like it's the second time I left you behind there," he said. "But honestly, I'm okay. Things have been going great."

"You really like her, don't you?" Dana asked him.

"Faye's awesome," Carter said, putting the Rover into drive as the transport reached floor level. "And I can't believe I have Joel to thank for that. If he had never asked me to bring him to that gift shop, I'd never had met Faye," he said as he pressed on the gas and quickly accelerated the rangers to the burning apartment. He turned to Dana. "Think I should thank him for that?" he asked.

Dana pushed the lock of hair that blew into her eyes. She shook her head. "Don't--then he'll always ask you to bring him places and bring this as evidence that his intentions are good," she said.

Carter still had his glance on Dana. "I never really got to thank you for all your help, Dana. I mean, with all your advice and everything." Dana turned to him. "Thanks, Dana," Carter said, softly, yet somehow the wind managed to bring his words right into Dana's ears. She smiled at him and didn't answer. Instead, she turned to watch the buildings they passed, the smile dropping from her face as soon as she turned away.

A few moments later, Carter swerved the car into the parking lot of the apartment, careful not to hit the two amublances and the firetruck already waiting there. The rangers got out of the rover and Carter ran towards the head fireman, who was his former co-worker. "What's going on, Derrick?" he asked the man.

"We still got some civilians trapped in the second and third floors," Derrick replied. "We got the first floor cleared, though."

Carter nodded. "We've got it from here then. Just tell the guys to get rid of the fires." When Derrick nodded Carter turned back to the other rangers. "Come on guys, there's still people on the second and third floors. Let's go!" He ran into the building, followed by the other rangers.

"Lightspeed Rescue!"

In a flash, all the rangers morphed into their respective ranger suits. Carter turned around and faced his team. "Okay, right now, our first priority is the second floor. Victims trapped there will most likely have smoke inhalation. Joel and Dana, you'll follow me on the second floor. Chad, Kelsey, you'll take the third floor. We'll clear the floors and get these people out. Got it!" When no one protested the order, Carter lead the way up the stairs. 

Joel, Dana, and Carter stopped at the second floor and Joel and Carter went to the left, while Dana took the right. "Hello! Is anyone still here?" she called out as loudly as she could. She went to the end of the hallway and then started kicking the doors open, starting with the door on her right. She ran in and quickly looked around. No one was inside, and she ran forward to the door right across. Nothing.

_I thought there were people up here_, Dana thought frantically as she went to the next door on the right. Then she saw someone on the floor, coughing. "Are you all right?" Dana asked the young woman. Dana saw the woman's eyes through the brown hair the was in the front of her face. 

Dana approached the woman and grabbed her arm. "Come on, let's get you out of here!" she yelled--and then stumbled forward. She turned and saw the woman on the floor, in her original position. "Come on, you're inhaling too much smoke!" Dana said, reaching for the woman's arm again. 

The woman just shook her hand off. "Are you Dana?" she asked Dana, coughing.

"Yes," Dana replied, still attempting to grab the woman's arm. "Come on!" The woman again shook her off. "Where's Carter? Is Carter here?" she demanded, becoming frantic as she glared at the Pink Ranger.

"Carter's helping other people right now, like I'm trying to help you," Dana said, grabbing a hold of the woman's arm and jerking her to her feet. The woman just stayed on the floor. "I'm not leaving until Carter comes and get me!" she shrieked.

Dana was dumbfounded. _Who the heck was this woman? What was she doing to herself?_ "Look! Carter's helping others. He's probably not even going to _come_ this way. Now let's get out of here!" Dana felt the frustration boil inside of her as the woman just shook her head and stayed in her position. _I've never dealt with a person that didn't want to be saved before,_ Dana thought inwardly. She thought back to her training as a paramedic and an idea came to mind. "Come on, let's go!" she tried again, before putting her plan into action. Just as she thought, the woman didn't budge from her spot, but she was coughing even more furiously than before. So Dana did the only thing she could--she threw her hand back and slapped the woman as hard as she could across the face.

"Dana, **what are you doing**?" Carter yelled from the doorway. He rushed in went to the woman. "Faye. . .Faye, are you all right?" he asked the woman, bending down and checking on her.

"**Faye**?" Dana asked. This had taken her by surprise. She looked down at the woman's face and realized Carter was right. Her face was all sooty and her hair was messy, but her face was familiar. "Carter, she--" Dana started but Carter was already carrying the woman. "She's unconscious," Carter replied curtly and walked out the door with Faye in his arms. 

"Carter--" Dana called to him as she followed him out.

"Check the other rooms. We've got the other side of the hallway cleared," Carter replied and didn't even turn around to talk to her. Dana shook her head and slammed the side of the wall in frustration. She quickly checked the other rooms and searched for other people, keeping her feelings in check as she completed her mission.

***

Carter removed his helmet and looked down at his girlfriend's still body on the stretcher. "Is she going to be all right?" Carter asked worriedly. Faye was still unconscious and she was wheeled into ambulance. The paramedic nodded. "She's taken a lot of smoke in, but she'll be fine," he replied as he closed the doors. He nodded at Carter and ran off to the driver's seat of the ambulance. Carter watched as the ambulance sped away.

"Carter!"

Carter tensed slightly at the voice. Instead of turning around, he walked forward to the Rescue Rover. "Hey," Dana demanded, running up to walk at his side. "Don't you even want to hear my side of the story?" 

"You weren't going to bring her out, weren't you?" Carter said, not turning to her as he spoke. 

"Whoa, hold on there," Dana said, grabbing his arm and stopping him in his tracks. "That is _not_ what happened."

"Then what _did_ happen, Dana? You slapped her. . "

"She didn't **want** to be rescued, Carter. She refused my help to get her out of there!" Dana protested. "She was waiting for _you_."

Carter shook his head. "I don't believe this," he replied, bitterly, crossing his arms. 

"And I don't believe _you_. She hasn't even spoken a word and already you're taking her side," Dana said, the silent contempt traceable in her voice. The tone of her voice made Carter turn to look at his fellow ranger. "We're supposed to be friends, Carter. Now why would I do something like this?"

Only one reason I can think of, Carter thought inwardly. He shrugged. "I don't know. . .maybe you're just--_jealous_?"

Dana's jaw dropped. She glared at him and shook her head. "Jealous?" she gave an unbelieving laugh. "**I can't believe this! **I've been helping you the whole time trying to help you deal with women, I've been your friend through all this, and now you're calling me **jealous**? No, Carter, I don't think I am," she said loudly. "As for you, I think you're taking this bachelor thing _way_ to your head, Carter Grayson." She narrowed her eyes at him, gripping her helmet with her left hand. She saw something shift in his eyes, just slightly, but she was so angry, the thought slipped her mind. She spun on her heel and stalked off.

Author's Notes: Hehe. . .hope you liked that chapter. To answer some questions: Yes, Dana has met Faye before--I just didn't really go into that whole detail.   
Are you still rooting for the Carter/Dana? Or are you rooting for something else? Hmm. . .let me know what your thoughts are now! I'm hoping to surprise you at the end!


	4. Doubts and Affirmation

Disclaimers: In the other parts

Author's notes: The mushiness ensues! Finally, some revelations get on their way. . .Daisy, this one's for you =) It's just this and part five that's left of the story. 

The Lucky Bachelor  
Part 4: Doubts and Affirmation  
By: Stargazer_1017

Chad rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No way, I am _not_ doing that again," he said, reaching for the glass of juice in front of him. Kelsey, who was sitting across from him, opened her mouth to speak, but Chad held up his hand to silence her. "Didn't you hear what the physician said the last time? If I fell the other way, I could've broken my arm."

"But the point is, you didn't," Kelsey insisted. "In fact, you just got off with a scratch!"

Carter, sitting on Kelsey's right, watched as Chad's expression changed to that of disbelief. Apparently, Chad didn't believe that he escaped harm with just a scratch. "When you fall off a horse, you have to get back on!" Kelsey continued.

"Kelse, I fell off a skateboard! If I fell off once, I'm more than likely going to fall off again!" 

Carter smiled at Chad's comment. Their argument wasn't even an arguement, but a test of their wills due to their different personalities. It always amazed Carter that Chad and Kelsey had become best friends. They were so different from each other, Carter mused silently as he half-listened to Kelsey arguing to Chad about not giving up. Kelsey was obviously the more outgoing and the risktaker of the two. Chad, on the other hand, was soft-spoken and hesitant when asked to do new things--that is, unless someone he trusted got him interested, which is how he got into the skateboard mess.

Then the smile from Carter's face dropped slightly when he thought about his relationship with Dana. 

_She hasn't said a word, and already you're taking her side._

Carter could still see the hurt in her eyes as she told him off. He had never seen her so angry--at least, not directed at him. Carter knew Dana well enough to know she would never lie to him, but he also knew Faye. She wasn't stupid enough to stay behind in the room to wait for him. _After all I've told her about Dana, she would _**_definitely_**_ trust her_, Carter thought. _But would Dana intentionally lie about what happened? If she would, why? _

_Maybe you're. . .jealous?_

The thought about Dana being jealous had crossed Carter's mind many times since he had started going out with Faye. _She did try to help me. . .and if she didn't want me to be successful in finding someone, why help?_

"Morning Dana!" Kelsey cheerful voice brought Carter out of his reverie. He jerked his head up and saw Dana approaching the table, her eyes straight on him. I can't be here, Carter thought as he quickly got up. There were too many questions in his head and he couldn't deal with Dana right now. As he got up, he walked around the table so that he wouldn't meet Dana face to face. 

"Carter!" Carter heard Chad call out behind him, but he ignored his call and put his tray away. Without another glance at the table, Carter went out the doors of the Galley and into the hallway. 

"Carter, wait up!" Kelsey called out behind Carter. Before Carter had a chance to turn around and tell Kelsey that he had to go, she had appeared at his side. "What's going on?" she demanded.

Carter turned to her for a moment and then turned forward and kept walking. "It's nothing, Kelsey. Don't worry about it," he replied.

Kelsey stopped and said, "No, it's _not _okay. Look, I know this is between you two, but when it starts affecting the team, it becomes our business."

Her words made Carter stop in his tracks. He paused and then turned around to face Kelsey. "I'm sorry that it's affecting the team, really, I am," Carter replied, "but this is something that we've gotta handle on our own."

"Yeah, walking around the table's a good way of discussing what happened."

"Kelsey. . ."

"No, you listen, Carter. It's been two days now. Two! Have you even found out what actually happened up there?" Kelsey demanded, crossing her arms.

"I've asked Faye," Carter replied, shifting his weight to his right foot. He resisted the urge to mirror Kelsey and cross his arms. When Kelsey started tapping her foot, the action silently asking, "Well?", he added, "She said that what Dana said isn't true."

Kelsey narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe her," she said.

Carter threw up his hands. "Everyone doesn't believe _anyone_," he said, running his hand through his hair. 

"And you?"

Carter looked at Kelsey and then sighed. "I--I don't know who to believe." 

Kelsey shook her head. "Come on, Carter. Dana's your best friend. You've known her way longer than Faye." She looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm not saying you should believe Dana straight off the bat because of that reason alone--I'm just saying, give her the benefit of the doubt. Don't friends do that? Doesn't she at least _deserve_ that?"

Carter thought about what she had just said. Dana definitely deserved more than his doubts. Carter sighed. "Fine, I'll do that," he replied. He turned around and walked off.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kelsey asked.

"I need to think," he called back, not turning around. Kelsey frowned at his retreating figure. "Hey, is Faye awake?" she called to him.

Carter turned around long enough to nod and then he turned around again. "Maybe I should have a talk with Faye sometime soon," Kelsey muttered under her breath. She turned around and headed back to the Galley.

***

Captain Mitchell paced around the meeting room, his head down. "We can't keep doing this." He looked up at the rangers seated at the table and kept his pace. "Another attack like that from Anderite, and majority of the citizens in the city will wind up in the hospital." He kept his eyes on the silent rangers, who were all watching him ,except for Joel, who appeared to be fascinated with his hands. "Well? Plans, anyone?" 

Carter looked at the other rangers and waited for someone to speak. Suddenly, Dana got up and said, "I think we should draw him out." 

Captain Mitchell narrowed his eyes slightly. "Draw him out how?" he asked.

"We know that Anderite picks places in the city at random, but maybe there's something he wants? Use one of us as bait or something."

Before Captain Mitchell could reply, Carter said, "No way." Everyone turned to him after he had spoken. Dana narrowed her eyes. "No?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Then what would you suggest, _leader_," she asked. She glared at him as she waited for his answer. Carter just stared at her and Dana stared right back. Without turning her attention away, she asked, "Captain, what do you think of the plan?"

Captain Mitchell turned back and forth between Carter and Dana and then said, "Right now, that's the only option we've got," he replied. "It sounds like a dangerous plan, but it'll do for now. We'll convene in six hours for the next plan of action. I want you all to think of a strategy to get rid of Anderite." Everyone stood up and went out the door. Carter was walking ahead of the group and Dana caught up with him. She put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. "What the heck were you trying to prove in there?" she demanded.

Carter watched as the others walked past them and when they seemed to be out of earshot, he replied, "Your plan's too dangerous."

"But it's the only affective plan we've got," Dana said. "You turned down the plan even before I had a chance to really go into the details. Stop running, Carter."

"I am _not_ running, Dana. Besides, what plan would that be? By using any of us as bait? By risking injury to any of the rangers?" Carter shook his head. "No, Dana, I'm not letting anyone go through any suffering." Dana turned her head away slightly, and Carter continued, "There's gotta be another plan. There's gotta be another way."

Dana turned back to him and sighed. "Fine," she replied curtly, and turned around.

Carter watched her go and had the feeling to go after her. _Somehow, the conversation shouldn't be over yet_. . ."Dana?" Dana stopped in her tracks. She hesitated before turning around. Carter took a deep breath and walked up to her. "We should talk," he said quietly.

Dana looked up at him and then turned her eyes away. "All right," she replied. 

"Look," Carter said, "we've been going through some. . .bad times," he started, hoping that he wouldn't sound in anyway insensitive. When Dana didn't respond, Carter pushed on, "I'm sorry I doubted you."

Dana turned back to him. She paused before asking, "So you believe me now?" His silence shocked Dana. "You mean you still believe her?" she demanded. 

Carter shrugged in frustration. "I don't know who to believe, Dana," he admitted. "You're my best friend, and Faye's my girlfriend. . ."

"Carter, I've known you the longest," Dana told him. Carter saw her jaw tighten for a moment, and realized that she was fighting something inside. He recognized that look when she was trying to steel herself against something. Maybe she thinks I'm going to tell her I hate her guts or something, Carter thought with concern. Before he could say a word, Dana said, "Look, I don't want to turn you against your own girlfriend. It's obvious that you really like Faye, but I'm not going to lie to you, Carter. She didn't want me to rescue her. I'm sure that if she had the energy, she would've fought me right then and there to wait for you to rescue her."

Dana sighed again and said softly, "I promise you Carter, I would never lie to you. Even if it _is_ about a girl you're dating that I didn't like."

Would you hate every girl I go out with, Carter silently asked in his mind. The question had been burning in his head for awhile now. . ."So what do we do?" Carter asked. _What about us?_

Dana shrugged. "We'll just . . .do what we have to. Look, our argument has been hurting the team. I'm willing to put it aside for now, until things can settle down, then we'll really talk."

Carter stared at her. Things were just too. . .confusing. Here was his best friend, willing to put this all aside to get the mission done and put the team before herself, in turn putting her hurt aside. . .This was still the Dana Mitchell that he had met when she had asked him to follow her that fateful day he became a ranger. 

Carter couldn't answer her. He never accepted or refused the offer, and Dana turned around and walked off without another word. Carter watched as she walked off and headed towards her quarters. Carter turned and walked in the opposite direction.

_Why don't I believe her? Why _**_can't_**_ I believe her?_ Carter groaned as he walked. He definitely knew Dana. . .her bad side, her good side. . .and even at her worse, Carter couldn't help but feel that she would never lie to hurt him. 

He found himself in front of the door to the galley. Out of all places to end up in the Aquabase, Carter thought as he walked into the empty room. Funny, the staff still cleared the Galley for him and Dana. . .even though they probably heard that the two weren't on well terms with each other. 

He took a seat at one of the tables and looked around. The room was completely empty, and it mirrored what he felt inside. He still had his girlfriend. . .but he lost his best friend. Carter ran his hand through his hair and tried to clear his head. He had to understand this. He couldn't run away from this forever. 

Faye claimed that Dana didn't try to rescue her. . .but why would Dana intentionally do that? And hit her. . .that was clearly unlike Dana. 

_The best way to find out is to put yourself in her shoes._ Carter closed his eyes. If Dana had a boyfriend, and he was claimed he was trying to rescue her boyfriend, and she didn't want to, whose side would Dana choose?

_I would never hurt her either, _Carter thought._ That's just what Dana said. . .but aren't you hurting her now by not believing her?_

_I _**_want_**_ to believe her, but I don't want to_. . .then something dawned on him. _There's something else you want her to say. You want her to tell you that she isn't lying because. . .maybe she loves you. _

Would she actually be in love with me, Carter thought inwardly. Dana had always looked at him as her best friend. But then the other moments kept nagging at him: those moments when he would look at her and see her as something more than a friend, moments where he'd stare at her and somehow get the feeling that she felt the same way, those near moments where he would almost lean over and kiss her. . . and then the assumtions from other people. Everywhere they went, people always assumed they were a couple.

Then Carter realized another important fact--he didn't know if Dana loved him, but he was certain of one thing: He loved her. He shook his head as the thought solidified in his mind. His concern over her when she was hurt in battles, being sensitive of her thoughts about how they were hurting people when they had battles, and the thought of her and _only_ her at times in his mind. 

He mentally smacked himself on the head. No wonder he was never good at this dating stuff. . .he couldn't even realize his own feelings until he stopped running. And even Dana could see this before he could. . .

That's it, Carter thought with determination. He got up quickly from the table and walked out of the Galley._ I have to find her--and now._

***

Dana put the equipment into a duffle bag. _I'm not waiting any longer for that demon to show up and hurt anymore people. I'm sick of waiting around._

"Where are you going?"

Dana turned around to see Kelsey at the door. She had a concerned look on her face as she tried to look at what Dana was doing. "Nowhere," Dana replied coolly as she turned back to her bag and zipped it shut. She heard Kelsey sigh from behind her and heard her footsteps stop beside her. "You're going after Anderite, aren't you?" Kelsey asked quietly. Dana didn't respond. Instead, she turned around and headed for the door. Kelsey anticipated her move and put her hand on Dana's shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "And how do you expect to capture him?" Kelsey demanded. 

Dana held up the duffel bag. "With this."

"This?"

"I remember Ms. Fairweather had a weapon she was testing a couple of years back. It's a prototype that checks for residue left behind from demons, and can track the demon all around the city."

Kelsey frowned. "A prototype? So it works now?"

Dana nodded. "I was tinkering with it about a couple of days ago, and finally got it to work--well, at least long enough to get a reading. I guess dad's been pressuring Ms. Fairweather and her team so much that she didn't even remember this being in her inventory of weapons."

"Still, Dana, you can't go in on this alone."

"Well, it's hard to get a green light from anyone for any other plans. Besides, I can't stand waiting around for this demon to attack again."

Kelsey watched Dana's expression and quietly asked, "You're not doing this because of Carter, aren't you?"

Dana shifted her weight from her left foot to her right foot. "I'm not doing anything because of Carter, Kelse. This is to help the others."

"Come on, Dana. I mean, I know you want to get this demon because he's hurting the city, but I also know you're hurting from Carter." 

"If you're implying that the underlying reason for going after the demon is because I'm somehow trying to get back at Carter, then you're wrong, Kelsey," Dana replied, looking away from her friend. She started busying herself with the strap from her duffel bag.

"I'm not saying that you're trying to get back at him, Dana--I think you're trying to prove something to him."

Dana started tapping her foot impatiently. "I have nothing to prove to Carter. He can make any decision he wants, do whatever he wants--"

"And go out with any girl he wants, right?" 

Dana stopped tapping her foot and looked at Kelsey, hoping to keep her face expressionless. Inside, she fought the urge to say something about the comment that Kelsey just made, but somehow Kelsey appeared to know what Dana was thinking, and she said, "Come on Dana, admit it--you were jealous when Carter started going out with Faye." Dana turned away from Kelsey again and looked up at the ceiling. When Kelsey made no further arguments or comments, Dana turned back to her friend. 

"Fine, okay? I was jealous--I said it," Dana said, starting to tap her foot again.

Kelsey smiled gently and walked up to her friend. She put her hand on Dana's shoulder. "That's all I wanted to know," she told her.

Dana groaned frustratedly. "Carter means a lot to me, but things are just so confusing. There are times I can see that he feels the same way about me, there are times when I **know** he feels the same way about me, but things never get where they're supposed to," Dana said, shaking her head. "Then when he was looking for the right girl when this bachelor thing started, and he was feeling so bad about everything, and. . ." she groaned again. ". . .I just couldn't see him so disappointed. Carter's a great guy. He deserves the best."

"Maybe you should've pointed out something," Kelsey said. When Dana raised her eyebrow in question, Kelsey continued, "You should've told him that the girl he was waiting for was right under his nose." Dana looked downwards as she thought about this. _I could've just told him. . .but I guess it's too late for that now. If we can't even work out our differences being friends, how can we work out a romantic relationship?_

Dana didn't reply to Kelsey's comment. Instead, she turned around and headed for the door. As the door opened to let her out, she turned around to face her best friend, who was watching her leave the room. "You coming?" she asked her friend, nodding towards the door. Kelsey smiled widely and nodded. Dana smiled back at her and lead the way out. 

***

"Any luck yet?" Kelsey asked, squinting her eyes and looking at the handheld device Dana carried in her hand. Dana shook her head and looked up. They were walking along the streets of Mariner Bay on a crowded day. No one seemed to notice two women walking around the city, one carrying a duffel bag with a huge electronic device on her left shoulder. Dana shifted the duffel bag so that she could look inside at the main device. She quickly scanned the device and looked up at Kelsey. "The machine is working fine."

"So what could be the problem?" Kelsey asked.

Dana shrugged. "Maybe I didn't get this right after--" she stopped when the handheld device started beeping. She immediately looked on the small monitor. Kelsey looked peered over her shoulder to look at the monitor and watched four circles, one of them in black, moving around the screen. "There's a trace of him. . ." All of a sudden, the screen went black and smoke started to come out of the device. Dana groaned. "I don't believe this," she said, shaking the device. "I didn't even get a look at where the signal came from!"

"I did," Kelsey said. "It's near Mariner Bay General Hospital. Let's go!" Dana nodded and after she threw the duffel bag into the back of the Rover, she jumped into the driver's seat. When she and Kelsey were secured in their seats, Dana sped towards the hospital. After getting out, she and Kelsey ran into the building. The whole first floor was calm and quiet, as there was nothing going on. 

"Where is he?" Kelsey asked. Dana just shook her head and looked around. "Maybe he's on another floor," Dana suggested. "The hospital's five stories high."

"I doubt people'll not notice a demon on their floor," Kelsey pointed out. "Why isn't there any pandemonium? Any havoc?"

"We can't wait for that," Dana replied, running for the stairs. Kelsey followed behind her and they ran to the second floor. Dana quickly scanned the floor. Everything was just fine. They ran back into the stairwell and appeared on the third floor. "Whoa!" Kelsey yelled out when someone shoved the door leading into the stairwell open. 

"Get out of here!" a man called out as he and a bunch people started running out. "Is the demon here?" Kelsey inquired.

The man was already down onto the second floor level. "He's in there!" a woman, who had just run out the door and heard Kelsey's question, answered. Kelsey and Dana ran into the third floor and looked around for a sign of where the demon had gone to. "Great, a demon loose and we can't even find him," Kelsey grumbled.

"Well, at least the hospital is built in a circular frame," Dana pointed out. "I'll take the right and you take the left. We'll wind around to see if the demon's still here." Kelsey nodded at her suggestion and started walking to the left. Dana turned to her right and walked off. The whole floor was quiet now, except for the humming of some machines. Obviously, some patients were still on the floor. I wonder if the demon got a hold of some of the patients, Dana wondered as she looked through the rooms.

She went back into the hallway and proceeded forward with caution. Her worst fears were confirmed when she encountered Anderite holding a familiar person in his grasps, with an energy bolt ready to go off. "Faye," Dana whispered. 

"Well, if it isn't the Pink Ranger. You finally got a hold of me, didn't you?" Anderite taunted, gripping onto Faye even tighter and harsher. Faye started sobbing. "Let her go," Dana said, narrowing her eyes.

"Please," Faye pleaded, but she only got a harsh nudge in response. Dana felt her heart go out to the young woman. Even though she disliked the woman for somehow convincing Carter that she was the bad girl, she saw the fear in her eyes and she understood what she was going through.

Dana hesitated for a moment. With Faye in Anderite's grasps, she couldn't get too close without Faye getting hurt or even killed. Morphing would be out of the question. _Stall for time until everyone gets here_. . ."Faye, are you hurt?" Dana questioned, trying the calm the woman down. 

Faye shook her head quickly and started breathing heavily. "Please, I don't want to die. . .I don't want to die. . ."

"Calm down, okay? Calm down," Dana said soothingly. "I'm right here."

"And there's not a thing you can do about it!" Anderite laughed, suddenly shoving his arm so that the energy bolt went flying through the glass windows to their side. Faye screamed and Dana cringed slightly from the unexpected move. Anderite laughed again and Dana saw that he was distracted for just a moment. She rushed at the demon and was able to kick it in the leg. Anderite screamed with pain and let go of Faye.

"Faye, go!" Dana yelled, watching Anderite closely to see if he made any move to grab Faye back. When Anderite lifted his arm, Dana kicked his arm away and grabbed Faye on the shoulders. "Go!" she yelled, pushing her in the opposite direction. Dana watched her go and was about to turn around to face the demon when the demon grabbed her from behind. Dana gasped as he gripped her around her neck. 

"Let her go!" Carter's voice called out. 

The demon spun around with Dana in his grasp and saw the other four rangers. "I lost my other hostage. The Pink Ranger made it up to me," the demon replied. 

"You okay, Dana?" Carter asked. Dana barely managed a nod, since she was being held so tightly. Carter turned his attention back to the demon. "What do you want? Don't you want to take this outside and destroy something?" he asked.

Anderite shrugged. "I would rather destroy something important than destroy buildings that can be repaired," he said. I can't believe this, Dana thought with disbelief. _This is the first demon we've come across that just wanted to chat! If he can just be distracted long enough. . ._

"And what do you mean by that?" Joel demanded.

"The Pink Ranger," Anderite said. "Why not destroy an important part of the team? Blowing up buildings, creating fires. . .that's what any demon does. I can do something better."

"You've been running away from us," Kelsey pointed out. 

I'm getting bored here, Dana thought. _Now's my chance. . ._She lifted her elbow up and jabbed Anderite as hard as she could. When he took the blow, Dana stepped on his foot and that released the hold on her neck. She stumbled forward towards her teammates and turned around. "You're pathetic, Anderite. You're the only demon I know who would rather talk than fight," she said. She put her arm out and called, "Lightspeed Rescue!"

In a flash of pink, she morphed into the pink ranger. She turned to Carter. "Let's finish him," she said, "but we can't fight him in here."

Carter nodded. "You're right." He turned to his left and saw the huge windows lining the wall. He ran forward and grabbed the demon. The demon struggled for awhile, but Carter was able to get the upper hand and kicked him through the window. He watched as the demon fell to the ground below and then turned to the other rangers. "Let's do it," he said and called out, "Rescue Grapnel!" In his hand appeared another blaster-shaped object with a hook at the end. He stepped near the edge of the window and shot the hook out to the ledge right over the third floor. Then he pressed a button on the Grapnel blaster and the dropped the blaster part of the device. He went over the edge of the building, and used the rope to go down.

The other rangers followed his lead and in moments, they were climbing down the side of the hospital. They reached ground level just as the demon got up. "Rescue Bird!" Carter called and in a couple of moments, the Rescue Bird appeared. All the other rangers gathered behind him and aimed at the demon. 

"Fire!" 

The demon never had a chance to strike back. As soon as the laser beam from the Rescue Bird hit him, he burst into a colorful shower of sparks. "It's over," Chad whispered as the smoke from the demon's destruction rose into the sky and also as sirens split the air. 

***

Carter walked up to the door and hesitated. I wonder what Faye wanted to tell me, Carter thought as he stood in front of the door. _There's something you need to tell her too. . ._All day, after defeating Anderite, Carter had looked all over for Dana, to try and talk to her. Somehow, Dana managed to avoid him since the defeat. 

Taking a deep breath, Carter lifted his arm and knocked on the door. A faint, "Come in," was spoken and Carter opened the door and entered. Propped up against some pillows on the bed was Faye, who was watching him carefully. Carter smiled, "Hi Faye. How are you doing?"

Faye sighed and nodded slightly. "I'm doing better," she said. Carter noticed she spoke just a bit softer than she usually did and he got a bit concerned. "Anderite didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked, taking a seat at the chair alongside her bed. Faye shook her head quickly. "No. . .no, I'm all right," she said. 

_Then what's wrong. . ._Carter couldn't figure it out. He didn't know what Faye wanted to tell him. He looked down at the his clasped hands and steeled himself. _It's now or never._ "Listen, Faye--"

"Carter, I've gotta tell you something."

Carter jerked his head up and looked at Faye, surprised and also relieved at her interruption. "Go ahead," Carter quickly replied, fighting the urge not to look down at his hands again.

Another sigh came from Faye. "Listen, I like being with you and everything, but it's not working out. I think we should break up."

"Huh?" That wasn't what Carter was expecting. "But I--"

"I can't believe you do what you do as a ranger." Faye looked towards the window. "Going after bad guys like that. . .when I was in Anderite's hold, I thought I was going to die. I truly did. Then Dana came up and she was trying to get me to calm down and stay cool--then she risked herself to get me out of there. She was unmorphed!"

Carter listened carefully to Faye's words. He still didn't understand what was the point she was trying to make. Faye turned to Carter. "The day when I was in my friend's apartment when it went on fire?" she said, looking at him. Carter nodded to let her know she was listening. "That day. . .Dana really did try to save me." Carter fought the urge to grimace at her confession. _I should've known. . ._

"But why. . .why'd you lie about it?" Carter demanded, feeling anger, sadness, and uncertainty boil inside of him. 

"Carter, I couldn't tell you the truth about it! You're totally in love with Dana!"

Ping! "What--what makes you say that?" Carter stuttered. He _definitely_ didn't expect this--at least, not it coming from his girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend. 

Faye shook her head and smiled bitterly. "You know, ever since we met it's been 'Dana this' or 'Dana that'. . .You don't think I noticed something between you and her?"

"Dana's my friend," Carter argued weakly.

"I bet you say that everytime someone talks about you and her. . .You never talked about any of the other rangers like that. You barely even _mentioned_ the other rangers!" 

It took her just a couple of weeks to come up with this and it took me almost a year to realize I loved Dana, Carter thought, looking back at Faye. Faye's expression softened a bit as he gazed at her. "Look, Carter, just do me a favor, all right? Tell Dana you love her. You guys totally deserve it. You don't need me to stand in your way." She reached across the bed, grimacing slightly as she grabbed his hand. "I can see it in your eyes you want to tell her. Besides, you never really loved me in the first place, did you?"

Carter looked down at their joined hands and blinked. Then he looked back up at Faye._ I guess I never really did. . ._"I'm sorry, Faye."

Faye shrugged and let go of his hand. "So am I," she said, looking down. Carter was speechless. _Everything ended so quickly. . .but it felt as if it was just the beginning._ He got up and looked at Faye. She looked back up at him and stared. After a moment, she opened her arms and Carter bent over and gave her a hug. "Now go on, get out of here," she said, forcing a smile on her face. 

Carter nodded and quickly went towards the door. "Hey Carter," Faye called out. Carter turned around slowly and waited. "Can we at least be friends?" she asked hopefully. Carter smiled and nodded. "I'd like that," he replied. A genuine smile crossed Faye's face and she nodded back at him. 


	5. Revelations

Dislcaimers: In the first part--I've told you that already =)

Author's note: Finally, the end of it. Hehehe. . .I'm sad that the story has had to end. There should be more Lightspeed fics out there to make up for some of the hidden storylines in the actual series. Thanks to all that have reviewed--you guys are awesome. FYI--the others don't know about Faye's confession. Let me know if you were suprised by the ending. . .I kinda got it from a JAG episode. Go Harm and Mac!

The Lucky Bachelor   
Chapter 5: Revelations  
By: stargazer_1017

Carter stood in the hallway, right in front of the door leading to Dana and Kelsey's quarters. He knocked once and heard a faint, "Come in," and walked inside. He frowned when he saw that Kelsey was on the floor, doing some push-ups. "Are you here by yourself?" Carter asked, walking only a few steps into the room.

Kelsey looked up from the floor and gave him a wry look. "Nice to see you too, Carter," she replied, a slight strain in her voice. 

"It's not like that, Kelsey. It's just that, I've been trying to find Dana everywhere and she's been avoiding me."

Kelsey kept continuing her push-ups as she spoke. "Well--Carter, you've been the one ignoring her and now you want to find her?" she grunted, taking sharp intakes of air as she pushed herself off the floor. When Carter didn't answer, she stopped doing her push-ups and got back on her feet. "What did you want to tell her? Maybe I can let her know when she comes back."

Carter shook his head. "I would rather tell her this myself," he replied. Kelsey narrowed her eyes slightly as she moved forward, a cat-like smile spreading across her face. "Come on Carter, we're all friends here. What's so important that you've been looking all over for her?" she asked. Carter had to smile slightly. "I have to go."

"Come on, Carter," Kelsey pleaded, "no one wants to share any gossip with me!"

"Kelse, you've got a big mouth."

Kelsey's mouth dropped. "Hey, that's unfair! Name one thing I blurted out," she dared him, crossing her arms. Carter raised his eyebrow and paused before saying, "How about when Joel put that fake snake in Captain Mitchell's hat and he put it on in front of the inspection officer?" Kelsey started biting her lip at this time. "You blurted out, 'Nice one, Joel!' right then and there!"

"Okay," Kelsey said, holding up her hand, "all right, there are _some _times that I do blurt things out--but not when they're really important!"

Carter had to smile at her comment. "You're right, Kelsey. Look, isn't really all that important. If I get to talk to Dana, then you can get the scoop from her. I'm sure that you guys probably have your own girl session anyway."

"Good point. I'll make sure to do that."

Carter rolled his eyes good-naturedly and walked out of the room. As he walked towards the Operations Bay, he saw Dana approach him. "Dana!" he called out and waved his arm. Carter watched as Dana's face took on a look of half-surprise and half-panic. She spun on her heel and walked in the opposite direction. "Dana, wait!" Carter jogged to her and stopped her from moving in her tracks by walking right in front of her. "Are you needed somewhere else?" Carter asked.

Dana wouldn't even look at him. "Kind of," she replied and went to her left. Carter was quick to move to his right--and then moved to his left when Dana tried to find a way of getting past him. Finally, Dana sighed. "Carter, what is it?" she asked, dejectingly. 

"Dana, we've gotta talk--about everything that's happened."

"Carter, I don't feel like talking about what happened. I just want to put it behind us."

"But I don't." 

Carter saw a surprised gleam in Dana's eyes. The gleam was gone as she narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "Really? Why?"

"Dana Mitchell, report to the training room."

Dana looked up at the ceiling and then back to Carter. "I've gotta go," she said, moving to the left again so that she could walk past him. Carter stopped her again and put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, we've _really_ gotta talk. Please." Dana's gaze softened on him and after a moment, she nodded. "When?"

_Definitely not here_. . ."How about at lunch? We'll go into the city," Carter suggested. 

Dana sighed. "All right," she replied. "Where'll I meet you?"

"At the loading bay. We'll take the Rover down." Carter was relieved when Dana nodded again and he stepped aside to let Dana pass. He watched as she walked forward and turned the corner, never looking back to smile or wave at him. I hope this works, Carter thought as he walked forward again. Then he stopped in his tracks. _The city? Where would we be able to talk? Where should I take her. . ._

For some reason, he found himself racking his brain to think about the things that Dana liked. Guess that training _did_ come in handy, he thought. _Dana likes a lot of things. . .the beach, the park. . .sandwiches._ For some reason, that fact stood out in Carter's mind. Suddenly, his eyes brightened with an idea.

***

"Close your eyes," Carter said as he and Dana got out of the Rover and walked along the sidewalk. Dana gave him a look. "Carter, if I close my eyes, I'll walk into the cars passing along the road. This isn't a time I want to be embarassed, let alone be killed," Dana said.

Carter grinned as he extended her hand. "I wouldn't let that happen. Do you trust me?"

_I'm pissed at him, but yet why am I smiling_. Dana gazed at Carter's expression and for a moment it seemed as if everything stood still in time. Then she looked back down at his hand. "All right," she said, putting her hand in his, "but just this once--if I ever on the cover story of the Mariner Bay Times as a car accident victim today, I'm blaming you," she joked.

Carter's grin widened even more. "It'll never happen," Carter promised. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation as Dana rolled her eyes and then shut them. She held her breath as Carter led her away from the sidewalk. "Where are we going again?" Dana asked.

"I told you, it's a surprise."

Dana groaned, but she couldn't help but feel excited at what was to come. _And why is he doing this? Shouldn't he be with Faye right now? After all that she's gone through, I figured he'd be there at her side._ She tensed slightly at the thought and didn't even realize it until Carter asked with concern, "Hey, are you all right?"

_Easy, girl, easy_. . ."I'm fine," she replied aloud. _Just take what you can--at least work things out with the guy. _

Suddenly, they stopped. Dana listened for the sound of cars, people, _anything_. The place was completely silent. "Okay, open your eyes now," Carter whispered from behind her. Dana opened her eyes--and gasped. "Oh my gosh. . ." she said softly, walking towards the blanket on the ground. On top of the blanket was an assortment of soups, salads, and sandwiches--a perfect picnic meal. A small basket was set off to the side so that it wouldn't be in the way, but was within arm's distance so that it could be reached when needed. Dana turned back to Carter, her expression now slightly confused. "What's all this?"

"Have a seat," Carter said, gesturing towards the blanket. Dana conceded and watched as Carter took a seat. Carter grasped his hands together and looked downwards. "Look, Dana, I've acted like a real jerk to you. Not believing you and all."

Before he could go any further, Dana interrupted him, saying, "Wait a minute, you mean, you actually believe me now?"

Carter looked up and reached across to grasp at Dana's hand. "I'm so sorry. I just couldn't. . .and Faye finally told me the truth yesterday. She lied to me. . .and that's not the kind of person I want to spend the rest of my life with. When all this came out and I found out the truth about her, and about myself, I had to let her go" Dana sighed and bit her lip. "Carter, I wish there was another way this could've ended or turned out. You were looking for the perfect girl. . .and I wanted so much for you to find her."

"I already did."

Dana's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. "Wh--what?" _Not again_. . ."Who is she?"

Carter smiled gently and looked her straight in the eyes. "You."

Dana's jaw dropped and she was speechless. Her heart fluttered and she blinked her eyes several times. "Whoa. . .did you just say _me_?" Carter nodded. "You," he repeated again.

"Carter--"

"No, Dana, I've got to say this. We've known each other for only about a year, but I felt like I've known you my whole life. You've given me so much and we've gone through so much." Carter smiled. "If there's one thing I learned about relationships from you, there are three things--trust, committment, and love."

Dana's eyes watered as she listened to him. She gave an embarrassed laugh as Carter reached over to wipe a tear that had made it's way out onto her cheek. "My gosh, this is so much like a romance novel," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. Carter shrugged slightly, smiling. "I had time to work on the speech when I was trying to find you," he admitted, laughing slightly. Dana laughed along with him.

Carter sighed. "Look, Dana, this has been inside of me for a long time now. The only disappointment I have is not being able to admit it to myself earlier. If I had, none of this would've happened."

"No, Carter we were both wrong," Dana replied. When Carter raised his eyebrow, she pushed forward. "I admit it, I was jealous when you started going out with Faye. It seemed things were going long term and. . .I just couldn't see you with anyone else except. . ." Dana couldn't finish the sentence, but she was relieved that Carter seemed to understand what she was about to say. He squeezed her hand comfortingly and smiled. 

Dana shook her head and swallowed. "I've loved you since the day we met. At first, I thought I was mistaking our friendship for love. . .but it never seemed to go away. It only got stronger," she admitted. She sighed. "So--where do we go from here?"

Carter looked her in the eyes. "I want to start from the beginning," he said quietly.

"Beginning?"

"The beginning of our relationship together."

Dana felt her heart melt at the words. . .but she still was able to bring a smile to her face. "I'd like that," she replied. Carter grinned back at her and started to lean forward. Ignoring the pounding of her heart, Dana leaned forward and their lips met in a long kiss. When they pulled away, they both shared a contented smile. _The start of a new beginning. . ._

END OF STORY--Maybe ;-)


End file.
